Cheesy Tomato and Basil Pie

The gardens are producing a lot of tomatoes at the moment. Most of them have been dried in the dehydrator kindly given to us by my mother-in-law and then stored in olive oil for eating later.
This recipe looked good and seemed like a good weekend dinner with salad.

I had to mess with the recipe a bit. I added an egg to the cheesy topping and used the last of a couple of mayonnaise type dressings I had in the fridge (a feta and garlic mayo and some tartare sauce).

The tomato and basil flavours came through well and it was really nice hot and pretty good cold too.
I think if I make it again I'll add a few other vegetables - capsicum, spring onion and maybe mushrooms.

My pastry could have down with more blind baking - I baked it until the top edges of the pie crust started browning. I might try totally covering the pasty with baking paper and cooking longer next time.

It is really important to get as much moisture out of the tomatoes as possible. I chopped them in the morning and stirred them occasionally throughout the day.

Cheesy Tomato and Basil Pie

Ingredients

• 4-5 fresh tomatoes, cut in half horizontally and squeezed to remove seeds and excess juices, and chopped into 1-inch pieces (yield approximately 3 cups)I didn't take out the seeds but a lot trained away.
• Salt
• 1 partially-baked 9-inch pie crust (see instructions here)
• ½ cup finely diced sweet onion (about ½ a medium onion)
• ¼ cup finely sliced basil (8 leaves)
• 2 cups grated sharp white cheddar cheese (or other cheeses of your choice)
• ¾ cup mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon chilli sauce (or other hot sauce of your choice – adjust amount according to your tastes)
• Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. About 4-6 hours before baking (or overnight), place the diced tomatoes in a sieve or strainer over a bowl and sprinkle generously with the salt. Stir to combine. Allow the tomatoes to drain of their liquid, stirring occasionally and gently pressing down on the tomatoes (use a large spoon or a small flat bowl to press the tomatoes against the sieve), until the tomatoes are very well drained. Blot with a paper towel if necessary to remove extra moisture.
2. While the tomatoes are draining, pre-bake your pie crust. (See instructions here
3. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 180 degrees C
4. Spread the diced onion in the bottom of the pie crust. Spread the well-drained tomatoes over the onions, then sprinkle the basil over the tomatoes.
5. In a medium bowl, combine the grated cheese, mayonnaise, sriracha and a generous grind of black pepper. Mix to combine (the mixture will be very thick). Spread the cheese mixture over the tomatoes in the pie plate.
6. Bake in the oven until golden brown and bubbly – approximately 25-35 minutes.
7. Let sit for 10-15 minutes to firm up before serving.